Barak wins Cabinet enlargement, loses esteem

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Despite criticism and complaints that he
was overstepping his bounds, Israeli Prime Minster Ehud Barak
won parliamentary backing Thursday to add five seats to his
Cabinet.

The victory is the latest in a string of political triumphs
for Barak that has confounded experts -- and raised questions
about the new prime minister's political style.

"The main complaint about Barak is that he is in a way
arrogant, that he works alone, that he doesn't rely on other
people's experience and that he thinks he knows it all by
himself," said political analyst Chemi Shalev.

The move to expand the Cabinet drew complaints even from
within Barak's own Labor Party.

"He's misusing the powers given him, and he's got a personal
touch which is questionable," said Yael Dayan, a Labor
colleague overlooked for the Cabinet.

"I don't know his motivation to bend hands, to show muscle
... a zero-sum game. I hope this isn't going to be reflected
in the way he treats our partners for peace," Dayan said.

Barak's new ministers are from centrist or left-wing parties,
solidifying the secular, centrist character of the
government. He had sought to expand the Cabinet to
accommodate demands from his broad seven-party coalition for
executive posts.

After his resounding election victory in May, Barak's
reputation was boosted by a diplomatic blitz that made Arab
and world leaders believe in his commitment to reviving the
defunct peace process.

But the problems of peacemaking are prompting a closer
dissection of Barak's politics and style than is customary
for a new Israeli leader.

His call for the Palestinians to forge a joint framework for
promoting peace has run into difficulty, even though his
negotiators have been insisting to Palestinians that he is
more trustworthy that his predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu.

"(Barak) is surprised because he comes with a great deal of
sincerity and good will and he still finds at the other side
of the table a good deal of suspicion and mistrust," said
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh.

But chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says, "What
really worries us is he is a man of his words.

"His words are (that) he won't give us anything on Jerusalem,
on the (West Bank) settlements, on our refugees," Erekat
said. "What kind of peace can we make with those words?"